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Evaluation of some toxic metals in breast milk samples with dietary and sociodemographic characteristics: a case study of Kermanshah, Western Iran

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Abstract 

This study aimed to investigate the concentration of some toxic metals (gold (Au), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), tin (Sn), and vanadium (V)) and arsenic (As) in breast milk based on demographic characteristics and the diet of mothers. In this cross-sectional study, 100 lactating mothers from Kermanshah, Western Iran, were included. The mean age of the participants was 29.5 (ranging from 16 to 43 years) with a mean BMI of 26.9 (± 3.81) kg (range: 17.0–39.1). The results of the pairwise correlation coefficient of trace elements illustrated that correlation was mostly positive and weak to moderate. A few exceptions of strong correlations were Cr–Ni (r = 0.82), Au–As (r = 0.64), Cr–V (r = 0.64), and Ni–V (r = 0.58). Moreover, results indicated that BMI (p = 0.008), cooking oil (0.042), and potato intake (p = 0.010) affected the trace element levels significantly. The concentrations of V (p = 0.044), Sn (p = 0.036), Au (p < 0.001), and As (p < 0.001) in the breast milk of women was affected by the BMI. The results of univariate linear regression analysis showed that the concentration of Pb in the milk of mothers who use cosmetics was significant (p < 0.05). Since the lifestyle of lactating women, such as cosmetics usage can impact the content of some elements in breast milk, they should be educated in this part.

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Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current research are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Kermanshah Health Center and Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences for their assistance. We are also very grateful to all of the mothers who participated in this project.

Funding

This project was generously supported financially by the Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: 1399/990217).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Research Institute for Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Samaneh Nakhaee, Borhan Mansouri & Vahid Farnia

  2. Medical Toxicology and Drug Abuse Research Center (MTDRC), Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

    Samaneh Nakhaee

  3. Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Research Institute for Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Fatemeh Khosravi Shadmani, Kiomars Sharafi & Behzad Karamimatin

  4. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Kiomars Sharafi

  5. Regenerative Medicine Research Center, Research Institute for Health Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Amir Kiani

  6. Biostatistics Department, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Nammam Ali Azadi

Authors
  1. Samaneh Nakhaee
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  2. Fatemeh Khosravi Shadmani
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  5. Nammam Ali Azadi
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  6. Borhan Mansouri
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  7. Behzad Karamimatin
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  8. Vahid Farnia
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Contributions

SN, FK, KS, MK, NA, BM, BK, and VF contributed to the design of the study, the interpretation of the results, and the drafting of the manuscript. SN and BM conducted the collection of the data. FK, NA, and BM conducted the statistical analyses. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Borhan Mansouri.

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Ethics approval

This study was conducted by the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. This study was approved by the Research and Ethics Committee of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (IR.KUMS.REC.1399.222). There are additional declarations for articles in life science journals that report the results of studies involving humans and/or animals.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Nakhaee, S., Shadmani, F.K., Sharafi, K. et al. Evaluation of some toxic metals in breast milk samples with dietary and sociodemographic characteristics: a case study of Kermanshah, Western Iran. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 4502–4509 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22495-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22495-x

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